“I think that when young people are involved in current, real-world situations, it enables us to passionately interact with the world and create a better future,” said Vanessa, a high school senior and Student Youth Advisory Council member.

TutorMate and Kaiser Permanente volunteers worked with 20 first-grade students who struggle with literacy at Asa Hilliard Elementary School in East Point, Georgia over the course of the 2017-2018 school year to improve the students' reading skills.

Kaiser Permanente recently helped open a wellness center for more than 70 teachers and employees at Carole Highlands Elementary School in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The new wellness center includes exercise equipment and a meditation area.

Over the past decade, Kaiser Permanente used different aspects of its HEAL (short for “Healthy Eating Active Living”) initiative to improve health policies, programs and ultimately health outcomes impacting more than 715,000 people.

“Often times, the health from the neck up has a direct impact on our health from the neck down," said Chaundrissa Smith, MD, at Kaiser Permanente Georgia. Dr. Smith encouraged students to speak up and reach out for help if they or someone around them experienced adverse mental health issues following a traumatic event.